May 2020

With my area opening up, I'm feeling even more stressed than ever. Our cases are increasing, yet our governor is listening to protesters demanding their "freedoms" be restored, putting us all in danger in the process. My family and I will still be sheltering at home as best as we can, and while we do I'm going to continue gardening for some stress relief.

When the Pentagon finally released footage that conceded the existence of UFOs, many citizens weren't impressed. Not only is this old news for many of us who know there's no way we could be the only intelligent life in existence, but it was also some pretty terrible footage. Many of us think they have some better, juicier footage stored in some fault.

Whether your state has issued (or removed) a stay at home order or not, hopefully you're still practicing social distancing and wearing a mask when in public, especially out of courtesy for the workers who put their lives at risk every day. Where I live, unfortunately many people aren't doing either of these things, but they are more important than ever.

Reptiles and amphibians make our hearts melt around here, and when we heard that there is a species of reptile that actually looks like a real dragon, we had to check it out. The Borneo Earless Monitor looks like he walked off the set of Dragonheart and is such an incredible creature!

Who says kids can't appreciate good music? The Barton Hills choir kids certainly love the Grateful Dead, as they've demonstrated in this fun performance from home. I'm not sure what I love more--that they love the Dead, that they were able to do this from home (a skill to be sure) or that they went viral and the world got to hear them.

If you're looking for your Next Big Cute Thing, meet the Bodega Cats of Instagram! These cats think they own the shops they take up space in and it shows. Some look like they're just hanging out while others look like cranky shopkeepers waiting on you to make your order!

Whether it's your Instant Pot or your mixer, your favorite goofy serving utensils or your grill, there's probably something in your kitchen that you feel like you can't live without. We are so fortunate to live in an innovative time with so many cool kitchen inventions that it can even be overwhelming at times. There are definitely items that take up more space for me than they're worth (I'm looking at you, rice cooker and K-cup coffee maker in the back of my cabinet!).

At the beginning of the year, we printed out that fun board game shaped trail made for a game challenge where you color in each day that you play a game. We didn't know that we'd nearly fill it this early in the year! We've been playing so many games that we fill in a fe squares a week, and we feel very fortunate to have this time together.